PERFECT
by randomle26
Summary: [ROBRAE AU ONE SHOT] Fast words make it easier on me, if the point is to never disappoint you, somebodies got to tell me what to do. Just wish you could've seen me when it used to come so easy. I like to say it's easy to stay but it's not for me, cause I'm barely here at all.


**AN: Here's a random AU one shot! I hope you enjoy and will ignore the errors that you will most likely see.**

**Song: ****PERFECT**** by Marianas Trench**

* * *

_Slow down now, the secrets out.__  
__And I swear now everything is perfect.__  
__What you want, what you need has been killing me.__  
__Try to be everything that you want me to be._

* * *

**Operation P.R.O.M. – Before Execution A**

* * *

"Don't forget to buy your prom tickets! Sale ends tomorrow," screeched Kori's preppy voice into the speaker system. Raven didn't really see the need to have the message repeated, considering she was staring at the colorful advertisement anyways. Like Julia Stiles did before, Raven tore down the posters, not caring who saw her do that or if she got a paper cut. She then flicked her cigarette onto the poster and demolished the small flame with her combat boot.

"Beep! Suspended for 'vandalism'!" screeched a voice from behind. Raven turned around to see Donna Troy, her closest friend and neighbor, running at her with a smile. The girl laughed, "Busted, Rae!" The goth girl rolled her eyes and the two began to walk away. Raven defended, "Me taking down that crap isn't really vandalism- it's cleaning." Donna turned around to see the head of the Crafts Club throwing a fit at the trashed poster, she turned back to her friend and said, and "I think you have a new fan, Rae."

Raven smirked slightly, "It's her fault her poster was blocking the…the chess club poster." Donna nudged her, "Nice save. So…you think someone's going to ask you?" Raven glared at her, "Someone already did." Donna's face scrunched up, "Yeah…_poor_ Adonis…guess he won't be _getting any_ after your answer; he knew you were dating Dick though." Raven nodded in agreement, "Why do you think I kicked him with my good shoe?"

Donna tilted her head in curiosity, "So…has Dick…?" The goth girl already knew what she was planning on asking. Raven shrugged, unemotional and unaffected, "No. I don't really care if he will." Raven calmly put her books on her desk, donna sitting in front of her.

"But it's _prom_! You have to go," she insisted. Raven wrinkled her nose, "Who says? Until it becomes a rule in the handbook, I'm just going to say, 'Bite me.'" Donna asked, "So if Dick doesn't ask, you're not going at all, right?" Raven shook her head, "Seems about right. It'd be _rude_ of me to go with someone else when I have a boyfriend. And…I don't know, I don't really know if I want to go. Have I gone to other dances before?"

Donna sighed, "So that's how you want to remember your last year of high school? Sitting in your house with Tim Burton movies and herbal tea?" Raven smirked, "Yeah. I'll remember it as the times of relaxation before I was whipped into the stress of college. And I'm mixing it up this time…it's _The Addams Family_ reruns." At that, Donna couldn't help but laugh.

* * *

"…And she said yes," said Roy, finishing the tale of his prom proposal to Donna. Dick smiled at the redhead, "Did you guys…?" The older redhead smirked knowingly, "I don't kiss and tell."

Wally snickered, "Yeah, but you wouldn't stop babbling about your first date with her. Do you even know how long it took us to get you to shut up after you guys said your 'I love you's?" Roy nudged him, "Once you get the perfect girl, you'll understand."

"Speaking of perfect girls," interrupted Garth, turning to the quarterback of their football team, "Today finally the day?" Dick blushed lightly, "What do you mean by 'finally'?" Wally smiled at him, "You've put off asking Raven for…like a week. What? You want to go with someone else?"

"That's not it," he said honestly, "I'm just…a little nervous. Raven's not like other girls. I want to do something unique…something creative." Garth raised a suspicious eyebrow, "Are you planning on serenading her?" Wally instantly responded, "Dear God, please don't do that. You're voice is still ringing from the time you sang 'Rolling in the Deep' at that karaoke bar."

Dick shook his head, "I've come up with a _few_ ideas. But I kinda need some help." The guys saw him glancing at Roy. The older redhead raised an eyebrow and answered, "Dick…you're great and all…but I'm not going to help you."

"Why not?" Dick whined, "You're her best friend, and as much as I hate to admit it, you probably know more about her then I do." Roy sighed, "Look, it's not because I don't want to…I just don't think I should waste my time." Dick gave him a pouting look, "Do you not care about the happiness of your best friend and her boyfriend?" Garth and Wally snickered at how desperate Dick was acting.

Roy gave Dick a look of disgust, "First of all, that look only works on chicks…_not me_. Second of all, I think it's a waste because Raven doesn't go to dances." Dick nodded, "I know that…but it's prom, and I highly doubt she just wants to stay home and watch Tim Burton movies."

"Dick…don't you know Raven at all? She's hates the idea of 'standing around with superficial teenagers showing off their new dresses and overusing their hairspray'. Direct quote," Roy reasoned.

Dick puffed his chest up and said, "Well I'll show her that going to prom with_ me_ will be one of the most amazing moments of her lives. Shouldn't be that hard, right?"

He heard Garth snort, "Yeah, you got her to date you."

* * *

**Operation P.R.O.M. – Execution A**

* * *

Dick jogged to the parking lot holding the essentials- doodled on Post-it notes, sharpies, and a bouquet of flowers. He saw Wally at his needed destination.

"This is pretty creative, Dick. How'd you come up with it?" asked an amused Wally. He shrugged and handed the track star some of the stickies, "I think it was a Sharpie commercial. Except the guy was asking her to marry him."

Wally looked around the parking lot, "So which vehicle belongs to Raven Roth, huh?" Dick raised an eyebrow, "Wally…it's the hearse behind you. You'd think you know that considering she's _goth_." He heard Wally whisper under his breath, "She drives a hearse?"

Wally and Dick began putting the Post-It notes onto the windshield of the hearse, trying to spell out the word "PROM".

"What the hell are you doing?" they heard someone ask. They turned around and saw Donna and Toni- another one of Raven's friends- running over to the hearse. "Dick came up with a good idea, right?" Wally asked enthusiastically.

Toni shook her head rapidly, "Oh my god. Raven's going to kill you." Dick raised an eyebrow, "What?" Donna sighed, "Raven's really _really_…protective about her car." Toni added, "She hit Roy's head against the dashboard when he got ketchup on the seats."

"Are you serious?" Wally asked, frightened slightly. Donna pointed to the passenger seat…and the area on the dashboard in front of the seat, "That's not a ketchup stain, Wally."

Dick and Wally looked back and forth before they ran frantically trying to get the Post-It's off the window. Too little, too late.

"What the hell are you all doing around my car?" asked an angry, monotone voice. Oh man, if she was this angry with them being _near_ her hearse…

Dick tried to smile sweetly at Raven, hiding the Post-Its behind his back, "Heeeyy baby." Raven raised her eyebrows, not familiar to the nickname. Hands free (putting all the Post-Its on his back), he shoved bouquet of flowers in front of her face, "I got your favorite: specially made, black roses." Hesitantly, she took the flowers from his hands.

She looked behind him, "What are you doing and why are there stickies on my car?" Dick turned around to see Wally still holding his Post-Its. On the windshield was the word "Pro". Dick looked back and forth before saying, "Wally did it!"

"What?!" asked the redhead, louder then Raven herself. The goth girl stood, hands crossed over her chest, and glared at the two jocks. Dick chuckled nervously, "He was trying to write…uh…Pronovias!" Dick had to ignore the odd stares from Wally, Donna, and Toni.

"What?" Raven asked, repeating in confusion. Dick sighed, "I don't know. I saw that word in your book." Raven sighed, slapping her forehead in frustration.

* * *

**Operation P.R.O.M. – Execution B**

* * *

"Look, if you want to ask her, be simple," whispered Karen. Dick eyed her, then eyed his girlfriend from between the bookshelves. He turned back to the African American girl, "You think this will work?"

"Of course it will," Karen argued, "Vic did something similar for me. Now, Raven loves chocolate…you can be smooth and _bribe_ the girl. Just remember, relax!" With that, she pushed him towards his girlfriend.

Raven heard the ruckus and put her AP Chemistry book down. She turned and saw Dick smiling nervously- she could see the sweat dripping off his forehead. Raven raised her eyebrow and asked sarcastically, "Did you come here to look up the word 'Pronovias'?"

Dick chuckled, feeling his nervous energy slowly disappear and gain at the same time (if that was even possible), "No. Sorry about that by the way…I should've remembered how much you love your hearse. Not more then me, right?"

Raven leered slightly, "Of course not. Why were you putting stickies on my car anyways?" Dick took a deep breath and pulled the box from behind his back, "I-I…um…I was trying to-"

"Grayson," the librarian, Ms. Prince, whispered harshly. She walked over and snatched the box, "No food or drinks in the library, got it? I don't care how many hoops you score after school, you can't bring food!" Dick raised his eyebrow in confusion and clarified, "I score touchdowns." He didn't know why that was important.

She pointed her finger, "No exceptions. I'll be taking these." Dick began to stutter, "B-b-but I…" he couldn't finish as he watched her take the "boon" away. Now he had nothing to give Raven. He turned back to his girlfriend and noticed Raven was slowly getting irritated. She asked, "Dick…could you hurry up? I have a test I need to study for."

The football player chuckled nervously, "Um…I wanted to…I urm…I…" Before Raven could understand what he was asking, he ran out the library doors. The last thing he heard was, "Grayson! You don't run in the library!"

* * *

**Operation P.R.O.M. – Before Execution K (because C-J didn't go so well)**

* * *

"Can't I just be casual about this?" Dick whined, "I can't just say, 'Hey Rae, what color's your prom dress…I want to match my tie'?"

Garth shook his head, "No. You tell her that and you'll be lucky she even let you close enough to _ask_ her. Girls don't like it when you take them for granted like that."

"Well every time I try to ask her it becomes a _complete_ disaster! Either, I mess up her car. Or I can't speak in clear sentences. Last time, I almost set her shirt on fire!" Dick complained.

Garth eyed him funny, "Later I'm going to ask how you almost set her shirt on fire, okay? But you need to focus." Dick groaned, "I can't!" Wally raised an eyebrow, "Why is it so hard, Dick? You've asked her _questions_ before."

"I know I just…I get all nervous and sweaty and I can't think straight. Every moment I spend with her I feel that way…except this time, it's intensified by 50," Dick confessed, "I'm afraid she'll say 'no'. You remember what Roy said!"

"It took Roy five months before he actually asked Donna out on a real date," Garth reminded, "And…maybe he's wrong. Remember, when you first decided you were going to ask her out, Roy told you she didn't date guys who wore threw balls around because it was 'fun' and you were acting just like this- except less panicky. But when you finally did it…she surprised you and she said 'yes'."

Dick stared dreamily at the picture of him and Raven (in his wallet), "She always surprised me in some way." Wally nudged him, "You're overthinking it. Just relax and ask her. It's not like your asking her to marry you. Besides, if she says 'no', it's not the end of the world."

_It'll be the end of mine_, Dick thought to himself.

* * *

**Operation P.R.O.M. – Execution K**

* * *

"You can do it, Dick," he muttered to himself, "If she says yes…you'll kiss her and be the happiest guy in the world because you're taking the prettiest, smartest girl in school to the prom. If she says no…I think it's best if we don't think like that."

He looked over the second floor of the cafeteria to see Raven deep in her conversation with Donna and Toni. He took a deep breath, but was quickly panicked when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked over and saw his friends smiling encouragingly at him. Roy asked, "You nervous?" Dick answered, "I think I might throw up my pancreas."

Wally stuck his tongue out, "Gross." Garth pushed the runner out and walked up to Dick, putting his hands on his shoulders and straightening his hair, "You're going to be fine, just relax."

Roy handed him a dress jacket, which Dick stared at funny. Roy rolled his eyes, "Hey…she's going to remember this forever. You're going to at least _try_ to look your best, right?" Dick gulped and slipped off his Letterman jacket and tried on the sports coat. "Showtime," he muttered.

Dick and the guys made their way down to the lower floor of the cafeteria. Wally stood on a table and yelled, "Hey!" Everyone stopped their conversations to look at the redhead. With a smile, Wally said, "My friend has a question that he's been waiting _forever_ to ask. I mean really- he's tried so many times and they were all-"

"Wally!" Roy and Garth simultaneously yelled. Immediately, he shut up and got off the table. All eyes were on Garth, Roy, and Dick. Dick gulped and clenched the pointy roses in his hand. Garth and Roy finally pushed Dick towards the tables.

"Um…Raven," he said, trying to remember what to say and how to breathe at the same time. Raven's face was stoic and her arms were crossed sternly over her chest. Dick sighed and shoved the flowers in front of his face, "Will…will you go to the prom with me?" He was flustering so badly that he didn't even hear the voices of his peers in his head. Why was she taking so much time to think about this? It's a yes or no question! You answer-

"No."

Everyone around them gasped. Garth and Roy shared panicked looks. Wally looked sympathetic at his best friend, and Toni and Donna just looked as confused as Roy and Garth- and they knew Raven best.

He could feel his world around him crashing in this very moment. His vision felt blurred and he thought his head might crack open. Eyes still widened, he stuttered out, "W-What?"

Raven glared at him, stood up and grabbed her messenger bag, "I said, 'No'." Before he could say anything, Raven turned away and stomped out the cafeteria.

* * *

**Operation P.R.O.M. – After Execution K (C-J weren't looking so bad after all)**

* * *

Dick was sad- or destroyed, really either adjective worked. Every moment of the day, all he could think about was what he did wrong. Did he forget to compliment her hair one day? Did he insult her and was so clueless not to remember how he insulted her? Did she not like the way he did his hair- if that were the case, wouldn't it be Garth's fault?

Was there someone else?

That question terrified him the most. The possibility that Raven didn't want to go with him…because she had feelings for another man…Dick nearly vomited at the thought.

He thought he made her happy, he was sure of it for so long- they've been together for almost 2 years. He knew that without a doubt, _she_ made him happy. Just the way she smirked (smiles were overrated) or the way she chuckled at things he said or stupid things he did. She was so beautiful- "beautiful" was the only word closest to his opinion of her- even with all that black makeup she wore. She was caring and just so…perfect.

So yes, the thought of anyone but him holding her the way he did made him sick to his stomach. He wouldn't accept it if there was someone else that had stolen her heart- he barely liked it whenever she hung out with Garth or Roy.

Every time he thought about that day, all he could think about was the way she said "no". It was almost as if she was angry with him and she was punishing him. That redirected all the questions in his head.

* * *

**Operation P.R.O.M. – Terminating the Mission**

* * *

It was Saturday afternoon, the day of Prom. Dick refused to leave his room no matter how hard Tim, Bruce, Damian, or Alfred pleaded. Hell even Jason tried to get him out (something about how it wasn't fun bothering a guy who looked dead on the outside and inside).

Dick lay in his bed, face staring at the picture of Raven (on his desk) and the Prom tickets. He wanted so badly to know why she rejected him. More importantly, he wanted to know if they were still together. In frustration, he buried his head in his pillow and screamed very loudly…for the seventh time that day.

He heard two knocks at his door before Alfred opened it and called, "Master Grayson." Dick groaned, "Alfred, I'm not hungry…well that's a lie, just leave it at the door." He heard the butler sigh, "I'm sorry sir but instead of the Rigatoni…I have Miss Raven."

At the sound of her name, Dick's head immediately shot up off the pillow. He turned around to see Raven in a trench coat, patiently waiting at the door (ignoring Alfred walking away). He noticed that the her hair had one black streak in her purple hair and she was wearing a lighter version of her usual makeup. "Hey," she greeted, running her fingerless glove through her straightened hair. Dick sat up and stuttered, "H-hey."

Raven walked in, closing the door behind her. She stared at him, "You look like hell." Dick couldn't help but growl a little, "Being rejected kind of does that to you."

She scoffed, "C'mon Dick…you're stronger than that." Dick stood and glared at her devilish figure, "How can you just act like nothing happened? You said 'no' to me."

"You know I don't like the attention, Dick," Raven said. Dick waved his hands around dramatically, "That's the suckiest excuse I've ever heard!" She clarified, "It's not an excuse, Dick, it's a reminder."

"Well, I'm reminded now," he said. With a sigh, he asked, "Why did you say 'no'?"

He walked closer to her, "You know that I love you. And I know that you love me too. So why did you say 'no'?"

She kept her face stoic, "Why did you want to ask me?" Dick creased his eyebrows, "Because you're my girlfriend." She shrugged, "And what if I said I didn't want to go, if I wanted to stay home instead."

"I'd tell you that…that I know you don't like going to dances but this would be really fun. It'd be a perfect night of hanging out with the people you care about and…and I think it'd be really fun," he said. Raven nodded, "That's why I said no."

Dick was confused. He asked for her to clarify. She sighed, "Each time you asked me, what were you thinking about?" Dick shrugged, slightly annoyed by all the questions, "I don't know. I was always half-minded: worrying about if the presentation was good enough or if you'd say 'no'."

Raven nodded and explained, "Dick…you just explained to me what your definition of the perfect prom night was, and I don't want that. It's not because I'm against the whole social convention of it."

"Then why?" he asked again.

"Because you're not worried about us. You're only thinking about how to make the night _perfect_. I don't want that as my prom memory. Whenever I knew you were asking me, all I could think about was if going to a dance was the way I wanted to spend my last nights with you. I wasn't freaking out over a dress or a corsage, I was worried about us not having time together," she said.

Continuing, Raven explained, "Dick…we're going off to college soon…and who knows how much time we have together with exams and everything, and I don't want to add Prom pressure to that. If it meant being weird and staying home on my prom night, I'd do that if it meant we'd be spending time together."

Dick stared at her, finally understanding what she was saying. She didn't want to focus on prom, she wanted to focus on him. This…this was probably the most_ emotional_ outlet he ever got from Raven. And he couldn't help but smile- smug of course.

"So…you didn't want to go to the prom…because you didn't want to _share_ me?" he asked. Raven rolled his eyes, knowing he was slowly coming back to normal, "If that helps you sleep at night."

Dick walked up to her, wrapping his arms around her trench coat, and said, "Thank you for clarifying to me in private and not in front of a bunch of people." She lightly pushed his chest, "You can guilt me later. I have plans for tonight."

"What, _Edward Scissorhands_ tonight?" he asked. She tilted her head, "Would that bother you if that were the case?" He shook his head, a smile plastered on his face.

Raven looked back at his desk, "I think…I think I'll be a normal high school student and go to prom with my boyfriend tonight." Dick's eyebrows rise, "Are you being serious?"

"Richard Grayson, will you go to prom with me?" Raven asked. Dick held her face in his hands and whispered, "I love you so much." Before Raven could answer, Dick smashed his lips against her, one hand through her hair and another underneath her chin.

He pulled away to see Raven smiling- actually _smiling_. She said, "You're not going to go in your boxers right?" Dick looked down at his attire and looked back at her, "And what are you wearing?"

She smiled and unbuttoned her trench coat. Dick was now wearing a full smile when he saw Raven clad in a blue and black Chinese dress that touched the floor- dear god he almost melted when he saw that the sides were partially cut open, revealing her beautiful legs. She smirked at his expression, "Didn't want this dress go to waste."

"Wait for me for thirty minutes and it won't," Dick said, obviously making hints. Raven rolled her eyes, "It takes you _thirty_ minutes? How long does it take you to put on your makeup?"

Dick rolled his eyes, Raven coming back to her normal sarcastic self. And Richard liked it that way.

Prom night wasn't his perfect memory of his senior year in high school, arguing with his girlfriend was.

* * *

**How was it? **

**I hope you all enjoyed this one shot.**

**Please Read and Review!**


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